Our First Thunderstorm
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Set near the beginning of season three.  No specific spoilers.  Completely random.  I think I dreampt this up listening to Carrie Underwood's "This Time."  I guess the line "or the sound of the rain on my windowsill" gave me the idea.


**This takes place around the time of the Pirate Solution, give or take a few days, or even a week. Somewhere between The Gothowitz Deviation and The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary. Just in general; it's just supposed to be roughly a month into the relationship. But no spoilers for those episodes, just as a time frame!**

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own these characters. If I did, they'd probably be married on the show.**

The skies opened on them less than a block from the apartment building. "Run!" Leonard shouted, almost playfully, as he jogged forward, pulling his jacket up over his head.

Penny tossed her ice cream into the trash can next to the sidewalk. It was disgusting now, anyway, with all the rainwater mixing in. She jogged after Leonard, who had turned to make sure she was following him. "Don't fall," she said as they jogged down a small hill.

"I'm being careful," he joked. That made her giggle. In the month they'd been dating he'd almost fallen flat on his face nearly a half a dozen times, either looking at her as he climbed stairs or tripping on a downhill slope. She knew his inability to multi-task in such a way embarrassed him, but she found it extremely adorable. She wasn't sure why. Until they'd started dating it was only mildly amusing to her; now she found it too cute for words. She could never speak right away after he tripped and joked about it, or commented on using caution. She'd always giggle.

They reached the apartment building and began to climb up the stairs. "Would you think I was weird if I told you I wish I could just shake like a dog and be totally dry?" Penny asked, wringing out her hair as they climbed and letting the water fall to the stairs.

"No, I wouldn't," Leonard said, "Go ahead. Tell me."

She was confused for a moment, and then shook her head fondly at him. "Shut up."

They went up to the fourth floor, and Leonard went to his apartment to get into dry clothes. Penny entered her bedroom and peeled her dress off of her skin. She felt bad for Leonard; pants were terrible to take off after they'd been drenched with rainwater. She almost wished he'd have come straight over so she could help him with that, she thought mischievously.

She glanced at the clock. Maybe she was glad that he hadn't come over with her. It was later than she'd realized, and she was tired. Penny put sweats on and climbed into bed.

* * *

Thunder crashed. "Ugh," Penny moaned, rolling over and putting the pillow over her head. She opened one eye to glance at the clock. Two A.M. Another few hours and those crazy guys would be up already, but she had yet to fall asleep.

Tired as she was upon going to bed, the rain on her windowsill, against the side of the apartment, _in_ the bedroom until she got up to shut the window, and the sound of the thunder kept her awake for the past two hours. Leonard hadn't come over; he'd probably been exhausted from their playful little jog and had crashed in his own room upon changing clothes.

There was a flash outside of her window. Penny started counting, just the way she'd been taught in school and the way that Leonard had reminded her of the year before when it had stormed shortly after their return from that George Smoot…festival? Convention? She didn't remember.

_Bang! Crack!_

Double – thunder. Or whatever the scientific word is. She doesn't know. She doesn't even really care. All she knows is that it was loud. And close.

She gets out of bed and exits her apartment, wiggling the lock until 4A's apartment door pops open. They really needed a better lock on that door; she thought. If that ever got out, they'd get robbed.

She literally tiptoed past Sheldon's door, almost giggling to herself when she realized she was actually scooting forward on her toes. She felt like a total idiot, but she reasoned that no one was ever going to know, and even if Leonard found out, he'd probably tell her it was adorable anyway.

She opened his door and reached for the light, stopping herself before she flipped it on. With the way he got headaches, she'd kill him blasting light down on his face unexpectedly. So she shuffled, moving slowly to his bed and laying her hands on the covers to find out where he was.

Discovering him off to the left side of the bed, she pulled back the covers and slid in on the right, careful not to disturb him. She rolled on her side, facing him, and shoved her face into the pillow.

Another bolt of lightning, this time from his window. This wasn't a flash; this was a clear bolt, shooting all the way from the cloud to, well, past the window, anyway. Penny had no doubt about how near it was and wasn't surprised in the slightest when the sound came instantaneously. Still, she jumped.

The slight movement caused Leonard to roll from his back to his side, and one of his arms stretched toward her side of the bed. She could tell, where his head was, and in the dimmest of light could still see that his eyes opened, just barely. "Penny?"

"Hey," she said. "I couldn't sleep."

"What time is it?" he asked.

"A bit after two."

"Mmmm." She felt one of his hands take hers and squeeze it. "You know I have to be up by seven, right?"

"Yeah, she whispered. "I'll get up with you and then just go back to my place and sleep some more."

"Okay." He was still holding her hand, but she could no longer see his eyes. He had closed them.

Thunder came again. She had missed the lightning. She scooted closer to Leonard, her free hand going to his chest and twisting the shirt around her fingers.

She felt him shift his weight; his right hand now propped his head up as he looked at her. "Penny , are you afraid of thunderstorms?" He said in astonishment.

She cuddled closer as another crack was heard from outside. "No," she said honestly, "but it's not something you want to go to sleep to alone when you have someone to hold you, right across the hall."

Leonard smiled. She couldn't see it, but she knew him well enough. Then she felt his hand leave hers and slide around her waist, pulling her close. "Our first thunderstorm. Are you sure you're not afraid?"

"I'm sure," she said sliding her own arm around him and pressing her nose to his cheek. "I like thunderstorms."


End file.
